The Note
by Inextricable
Summary: What if Leo never gave Emily the note Damon left for her after the invitational with China's team? What if Kaylie found out about it? Would she make Leo tell Emily about it, or decide to let her brother and Emily find happiness together? One-Shot.


**AN: Sorry for anyone who was expecting one of my stories to update. I'm working on them I promise!**

**Anyways, this storyline came to me while re-watching the MIOBI episodes in prepratoin for the new season (which I CAN NOT wait for!) Hope you enjoy it!**

Kaylie blinked and re-read the note in her hands for what felt like the billionth time. She'd just gotten home from Spruce Juice with Payson and Emily. After the amazing outcome of the invitationals yesterday, despite the consequences, they'd all felt a need to celebrate today. Because she'd spilled some of her blueberry sprucer down her white shirt, she'd gone straight to the laundry room to bleach the spot immediately after arriving at her home. However, what she found in the small room surprised her.

There was a pile of Leo's clothes on the dryer, which wasn't much of a surprise. He'd been becoming extremely lazy with getting his laundry done lately, from what Kaylie had heard from the maids around the house. Their mom had encouraged him to not getting used to the maids being at his disposal while he was home. After all, he'd have to get his own place sooner or later and most likely wouldn't have the money for his own cleaning service.

Unfortunately for Kaylie, the massive pile was in the way of the cupboard that held the bleach pen that would take the bright blue stain out of her new cute top. So with a disgusted look on her face, she grabbed the top of the pile and placed it on the washer. The jacket that Leo had been wearing the night before fell onto the ground when she did this, causing her to groan. She contemplated leaving the article of clothing there, but really, why should she made the maid's life any harder than need be? She bent down and picked the jacket up, planning to just toss it on the pile and grab the bleach pen. However, her plans changed when a folded piece of paper fell out of the pocket.

Kaylie knew she shouldn't read it. She knew that snooping only ever led to drama, which in turn led to crappy performances in the gym. But... It was in Leo's jacket. Surely it couldn't effect her or anyone else she knew besides Leo, right? Wrong. The small girl's curiosity peaked and she grabbed the paper, opening it and becoming quickly horrified.

_Emily,_  
><em>I know you wanted me to tell you that I... That I love you. But you know how I am with stage fright. I need to prove to you that I can be the guy for you. So listen to the radio on the normal station at 7 pm and you'll see what I plan on doing.<em>  
><em>-Damon<em>

Kaylie couldn't believe it. Why had Leo kept hold of this? When had he even taken it? She mentally recapped the night before. The Rock families had gone to the Pizza Shack around six... So maybe he'd taken it then? That didn't make sense, though, because Emily had been at The Shack earlier in the day and from what she'd heard about the radio station they usually pre-recorded their shows earlier in the days. Had Leo been with Emily when she stopped at The Shack before going to the gym?

The front door slammed shut and Kaylie jumped high in the air. In a panic she shoved the note back into the pocket it fell from and threw the coat onto the pile like it was on fire. The bleach for her shirt long forgotten, Kaylie bolted from the room and shot like a pistol into her own room. Leo's voice drifted into her room and Kaylie shuddered.

Emily had been crushed the week before the invitational. The pain was beyond evident on her face the entire time, but Kaylie had tried to ignore it. There was enough going on with the National Committee trying to scare The Rock into not going against China. Despite that though, she'd accidentally over heard Emily telling Payson what had happened between her and Damon that weekend.

They had been arguing over something and Emily had blurted out that she loved him. Damon however, froze and left her standing alone in The Shack with nothing. She was completely shattered by the lack of emotion he showed towards her after that. As far as Kaylie knew, Damon hadn't spoken to her since. What had been on the radio show that Emily had never been able to hear?

Kaylie's eyes flicked to her laptop. Leo's bedroom door and slammed shut a moment ago. She really shouldn't butt in on this but... What if it was something Emily really needed to know? Before she could stop herself, Kaylie was on her bed, her laptop flipped open and clicking into the radio stations website. They usually had a video of the pre-recorded show from the previous night for anyone who'd missed it.

Sure enough, the first promo on the front page was the Damon Young interview and Live Performance. Kaylie quickly shoved her ear buds into the headphone socket and slipped the buds into place before pushing play. She felt herself becoming more horrified with each minute that passed.

Damon loved Emily. Loved her fiercely to the point he was willing to put everything on the line to prove it to her. And Emily had absolutely no idea because Leo-

Damon began to sing a love song. If Kaylie's assumption was correct, the lyrics were about his relationship with Emily. Almost immediately after the song started, Kaylie noticed the door to her bedroom was slowly opening. Leo stood in the doorway and his eyes trailed down to her laptop where Damon's face was dominating the screen. Her brother's brown eyes widened and locked with her own dark orbs. She pulled her pink ear buds out.

"Care to explain?"

Leo hesitated, seeming to weigh his options before he spoke like the genius he was. His answer however, was not so intelligent. "I like her."

"Thank you Captain Obvious, I wasn't sure if my brother who has been oogling my team mate was actually interested in her or just happened to stare off in her direction almost constantly." Kaylie rolled her eyes as she shut her laptop and tossed it carefully on the end of her bed.

"So...?" Leo hedged.

Kaylie shook her head, causing her curled hair loosely fell around her face. "So what the hell were you thinking Leo? Emily loves Damon, she deserves to know about this!" She had slid off her bed and had her arms crossed, glaring at her older brother. Just as she was about to continue, he cut her off.

"He's not good for her Kay! You've seen how much of a distraction he is." the older boy nearly growled at his sister. "She was a mess until the day of the competition, and do you know why that is?"

Kaylie hesitated but shook her head again. She had of course noticed Emily's uplifted spirits once she'd entered the gym. But Kaylie had just written it off on relief that their team would be complete.

"While you've been hiding out, avoiding everyone I've been in the gym with Emily working on her routines." Kaylie lowered her head guiltily: she'd let her team down when they absolutely needed her, even if she did end up going to the competition. "Between apparatuses, we've been talking a lot. She told me she was glad that Damon didn't say it back." The small girl's head shot back up as Leo leaned against her door frame.

"Why?" That didn't sound like Emily at all. She'd put everything she had into making things work with Damon.

Leo shrugged, "She said that everything was beginning to be too much for her to handle. Between her family, Sasha, gymnastics, and the national team? Having Damon on her mind all of the time was messing with her."

"But Leo," Kaylie began to argue, "She loves Damon. Just like I loved Carter, like you loved that girl back when you were our age. Don't you remember that feeling? Don't you think that if you had a chance to know she loved you back that you would want it more than anything?"

She watched as her older brother seemed to mull things over in his mind before sighing heavily. "I get it Kay, I do." He sounded defeated as he walked to her vanity and sank into her chair.

"If you mean that, then you should be the one to show Emily the interview. She needs to know."

Leo shook his head, and Kaylie realized then how serious her brother must be about her newest team mate and friend. She hadn't seen him this emotional over anyone else since Laura, a girl that he'd confessed his love to when he was a beginner gymnast. Much like Damon, the girl left, switching gyms before she could tell Leo how she felt in return. It had broken his heart and he'd refused to date anyone else since then.

"You don't like Emily do you?" she whispered softly, coiling her ear buds before sliding them into the pocket of her sweater.

Leo's head snapped up, "Of course I do, do you think I'd lie about something like that?"

Kaylie almost smiled at his obliviousness. "You love her. You so totally _love her_!" she really did smile then and threw one of her pink and black fluffy pillows at his head, hitting him smack in the face.

He was too shocked to be bothered by the pillow, and pushed it off his lap without much concern. "What the heck are you talking about Kay? I don't know her enough to love her."

His younger sister snorted and rolled elegantly off her bed, walking to her purse and pulling out her cell phone. "If thats true, then call her now and ask her to meet you so that you can tell her about that video," she challenged, her free hand resting on her hip and an eyebrow raised in disbelief.

Mumbling something under his breath about 'being ridiculous', Leo turned in her chair, facing the mirror and very much avoiding the cell phone in her freshly manicured hand.

"Uh-huh that's what I thought." she chirped victoriously. "I knew there was something going on between you two ever since you've been back in town!" Kaylie bounced around in her room as she sent out a text.

"God Kay, can you be quiet for like two minutes? And why does this even matter? She's in love with Damon remember?" Kaylie turned in time to see her brother cover his face with his calloused hands.

She felt a stab of pity for him, and decided to tell him something she'd been carefully keeping from him for the past week. "What if I told you... That even though Emily loved Damon... she had eyes for someone else? That she's had eyes for that person since her first week at the Rock?"

Kaylie bit the inside of her cheek, suddenly feeling anxious. Leo slowly raised his face from his hands to peer at her through her newly cleaned mirror. "The Razor kid who was glaring at me the night of Blast Off?" he guessed.

With a roll of her eyes, Kaylie kicked the back of her chair, jostling her brother. "No, you idiot, you!" he scoffed, not believing her, so she continued. "When we went to Denver to talk to Marty, I casually mentioned you two meeting and Leo... her face brightened _and_ her cheeks turned red. Kind of like how when a girls does when she likes a boy..." she teased.

"That was forever ago Kay, she hadn't even met Damon by that point." he huffed, slouching back in her chair.

"Oh please! She still looks the same way when you're mentioned _now_. And if I remember correctly, she thought Damon was a bit of an ass in the start," she added, as if this fact made everything come together. It seemed like it didn't for Leo.

"What does that even matter?" Leo ground out, pushing back the chair and pacing the room. "She loves him now Kay! And I really screwed up at that party. I should have let her see the note. I should have let her know that he cared and let her decide what to do from there."

Kaylie watched as he clenched his fists, looking ready to punch something, and then forcefully unclenched them again. It was a side of Leo she hadn't witnessed in several years, and although it scared her, she knew her brother needed her now more than ever.

"What're you going to do?" she whispered, causing him to pause mid-stride before starting his pacing again.

"What _can_ I do?" he shot back, his shoulders drooping. "Tell her that I screwed up her chance for reconnecting with Damon? Or pretend I never stole that note and try to win her for myself?"

Kaylie bit her lip, studying her brother while fiddling with the phone in her hand. She knew how badly it hurt to mess up things with the person you loved most. To not take the chance and make an effort to fix it. Surely Emily would want that chance to fix things with Damon. But if the interview was right... Damon was likely already on a plane to Europe with Green Day. It could be weeks, even _months_ before she'd be able to talk to Damon again. And Kaylie was well aware of just how much feelings could change within such a timeframe.

That last thought decided it for her. Without waiting another moment, she flipped her phone open and looked for the number she'd never used before.

"Hello Ms. Kmetko," she replied to the upbeat voice on the other line, doing her best to ignore her brothers burning gaze. "Yeah, sorry I know it's only for emergencies, but I was just wondering if maybe Emily would like to spend the night? I was thinking about inviting Payson over as well. Y'know... kind of like a celebration sleep over?" she paused as Emily's mother checked with her team mate for an answer. "You'll be here in half an hour? Great, thanks!"

When she flipped her phone shut and looked up at her brother, she smiled guiltily.

"What was that about? We haven't even decided what to do yet!" he bit out at her.

"Actually... we have. Go get the note and meet me in dad's study okay?" Leo eyed her wearily for a moment, but left her room and headed towards the laundry room like she asked.

Kaylie sighed, running a hand through her hair as she tossed her phone onto her bed, and sunk down next to it, picking up her laptop. If she were going to follow through on this plan, she needed to make sure there was no way that Emily could get suspicious.

She closed out the window of the radio station and cleared out her browsing history. Several times she had to remind herself that this would be better for Emily. Knowing that Damon loved her when she couldn't speak to him for months, or to apologize for not seeing him off... It would ruin her gymnastics with the constant distraction with the thought of it.

When she met her brother in their dad's study, she took the note from him.

"This," she held the note up, "never happened. You never saw it. If Damon comes back and tells Emily about it... Someone else must have taken it down, or she must have missed it. You. Never. Touched. It." She shook the note with each word in emphasis before throwing it into the forever blazing fireplace.

They watched together as the note curled up in flames, and turned into ashes moments later.

"What's the point?" Leo asked. "She loves Damon, you even said it yourself. She deserves to know."

Kaylie nodded in agreement, "And you said yourself how distracted she's been since Damon didn't return her love. But she's finally moving past it, and you saw how well she did at the invitational. How do you think she'll do if she finds out that he loves her, and that she missed saying goodbye to him? She won't see him for months Leo, and with the national team watching her every move... She can't afford a distraction like that."

"But she can afford a distraction like me?" he questioned.

With a sigh, Kaylie began to walk out of the room, only turning around long enough to say, "You understand the sport though Leo. You can help her shine in a way Damon wouldn't have been able to. Just be sure this is what you really want before you go and break her heart, because thats a distraction she really can't afford." she warned seriously.

Leo smiled at her then, "It is."

Kaylie smiled back before turning back into the hallway as the door bell rang. It seemed as though tonight she'd be doing some match making.


End file.
